Welsh restaurant Ynyshir voted best in the UK and Da Terra best in London

Welsh restaurant Ynyshir has defended its crown as the UK’s best restaurant at the National Restaurant Awards 2023, held at London’s Hurlingham Club yesterday evening.

The awards are an annual countdown of the country’s top 100 restaurants. Determined by leading chefs, restaurateurs and food writers, the list is a barometer of the nation’s food scene.

Under the stewardship of chef-patron Gareth Ward, Ynyshir has once again seized the top spot. Ward’s daring approach to the culinary arts, informed by an Asian-inspired tasting menu of numerous small courses, continues to challenge the concept of fine dining in the UK.

Despite being tucked away on Wales’ west coast, the unique charm of Ynyshir has made it a beacon in the national food scene. It is housed in a traditional country house, now dramatically painted black, and combines an energising soundtrack – often with a live DJ – with an assortment of small plates cooked over an open flame, served directly to the dining tables by the chefs themselves.

As Stefan Chomka, the editor of Restaurant, stated: “Ynyshir is truly in a league of its own. It seamlessly melds fun with fine dining to deliver an experience unlike any other.”

Last year’s runner-up, Moor Hall in Lancashire, claimed second place once more, while Da Terra in east London jumped an impressive 18 places to secure third. The awards highlighted London’s resurgence as a culinary powerhouse, with 54 of the top 100 restaurants located within the capital, and only three of the top ten situated elsewhere.

Award	Winner	Location
National Restaurant of the Year	Ynyshir	Powys, Wales
Best Restaurant in England	Moor Hall	Aughton, England
Best Restaurant in N. Ireland	Ox	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Best Restaurant in Wales	Ynyshir	Powys, Wales
Best Restaurant in Scotland	The Glenturret	Crieff, Scotland
Chef of the Year	Kenny Atkinson (House of Tides)	Newcastle, England
Restaurateur of the Year	Samyukta Nair (LSL Capital)	London, England
Chef to Watch	April Lily Partridge (The Ledbury)	London, England
Opening of the Year	Bouchon Racine	London, England
One to Watch	The Midland Grand Dining Room	London, England
Sustainability Award	Pensons	Tenbury Wells, England
Gastropub of the Year	Parkers Arms	Newton-in-Bowland, England
Service Award	The Ledbury	London, England
Wine List of the Year	Maison Francois	London, England
Cocktail List of the Year	Roots	York, England
Innovator of the Year	Apricity	London, England
Lifetime Achievement Award	Fergus Henderson & Trevor Gulliver (St John)	London, England

Among the other winners, the Opening of the Year award went to Bouchon Racine by Henry Harris. The eatery, nestled above a historic pub in Farringdon, London, is a homage to traditional French cuisine. It’s an exciting new venture for Harris, who served as the executive chef at Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor Restaurant before opening his first solo restaurant, Racine, in 2022.

The Service Award was claimed by The Ledbury. Furthermore, their sous chef April Lily Partridge, at just 29, earned the Chef to Watch title.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver of St John. The London-based culinary duo has been championing the concept of nose-to-tail cooking since 1994, with their restaurant influencing British cuisine, design and philosophy.

Pensons, for their innovative and sustainable approach to running their business, was awarded the Sustainability Award. They created an on-site laundry powered by solar panels, using collected rainwater, thereby significantly reducing energy use and water consumption.

Food Desk

Here’s the full National Restaurant Awards 2023 list

Position	Restaurant Name	Location
1	Ynyshir	Machynlleth, Powys
2	Restaurant Moor Hall	Aughton, Lancashire
3	Da Terra	Bethnal Green, London
4	The Ledbury	Notting Hill, London
5	Bouchon Racine	London
6	Restaurant Pine	East Wallhouses, Northumberland
7	The Ritz	Mayfair, London
8	Core By Clare Smyth	Notting Hill, London
9	Frog By Adam Handling	Covent Garden, London
10	KOL	Marylebone, London
11	Kitchen Table	Fitzrovia, London
12	Parkers Arms	Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire
13	Sabor	Mayfair, London
14	Alex Dilling at the Café Royal	London
15	The Sportsman	Seasalter, Kent
16	Claude Bosi at Bibendum	Chelsea, London
17	Solstice	Newcastle upon Tyne
18	A Wong	Victoria, London
19	Brat	Shoreditch, London
20	Kiln	Soho, London
21	Ikoyi	St James’s, London
22	Alchemilla	Nottinghamshire
23	House of Tides	Newcastle
24	Osip	Bruton, Somerset
25	Roots	York
26	Fallow	St James’s, London
27	The Angel at Hetton	North Yorkshire
28	The Seahorse	Dartmouth, Devon
29	BiBi	Mayfair, London
30	L’Enclume	Cartmel, Cumbria
31	The French House	Soho, London
32	Noble Rot Soho	London
33	Paul Ainsworth at No.6	Padstow, Cornwall
34	Trinity	Clapham, London
35	The Clove Club	Shoreditch, London
36	The Glenturret Lalique	Crieff
37	The Fordwich Arms	Kent
38	Endo at the Rotunda	Shepherd’s Bush, London
39	Benares	Mayfair, London
40	SO	LA
41	The Palmerston	Edinburgh
42	Chez Bruce	Wandsworth, London
43	Maison Francois	St James’s, London
44	The Black Swan at Oldstead	North Yorkshire
45	The Quality Chop House	Clerkenwell, London
46	Dorian	London
47	Hide	Mayfair, London
48	Luca	Clerkenwell, London
49	Allegra	Stratford, London
50	Humble Chicken	London
51	Higher Ground	Manchester
52	The Man Behind the Curtain	Leeds
53	Opheem	Birmingham
54	Brawn	Bethnal Green, London
55	Wilsons	Bristol
56	Launceston Place	Kensington, London
57	Speedboat Bar	London
58	40 Maltby Street	Bermondsey, London
59	Restaurant Gordon Ramsay	Chelsea, London
60	Forest Side	Grasmere, Ambleside
61	Café Cecilia	Hackney, London
62	Angela’s	Kent
63	Hjem	Hexham, Northumberland
64	HUMO	London
65	Restaurant Sat Bains	Nottingham
66	Smoking Goat	London
67	Apricity	London
68	Northcote	Langho, Lancashire
69	Manteca	Shoreditch, London
70	Rochelle Canteen	Shoreditch, London
71	Mana	Manchester
72	Sessions Art Club	Clerkenwell, London
73	Singburi	Leytonstone
74	St John	Clerkenwell, London
75	Grace & Savour	West Midlands
76	The River Café	Hammersmith, London
77	The Unruly Pig	Woodbridge
78	Updown Farmhouse	Deal
79	Ox	Belfast
80	Inver	Strachur, Argyll & Bute
81	Aizle	Edinburgh
82	The Raby Hunt	Darlington, County Durham
83	Quo Vadis	London
84	Carters of Moseley	Birmingham
85	Lisboeta	London
86	Lyle’s	Shoreditch, London
87	Mangal 2	Hackney, London
88	Restaurant 22	Cambridge
89	Etch	Hove, East Sussex
90	Straker’s	London
91	Upstairs by Tom Shepherd	Lichfield
92	Jöro	Sheffield
93	The Kitchin	Leith, Edinburgh
94	Frenchie	Covent Garden, London
95	The Dew Drop Inn	Hurley
96	SY23 Restaurant	Aberystwyth
97	The Pem	Westminster, London
98	The Tamil Prince	London
99	Café Deco	Bloomsbury, London
100	Manifest	Liverpool